Private Horses Reined In at Will Rogers State Park

It is with profound dismay that I read of the decision of the director of the California state parks to temporarily remove private horses from Will Rogers State Historic Park and the fact that this eviction may become permanent (“Will Rogers Didn’t Leave His Park to Horses,” Commentary, Jan. 27). As a former volunteer park aide, assisting with the park ranger mounted patrol unit, my experiences would counter Rusty Areias’ opinion that private horses don’t belong in a public park.

As opposed to the times when the barn has stood empty, with visitors walking in briefly to glimpse a mothballed facility, the horses brought life and excitement to the park. Most visitors were thrilled to be able to visit a working barn, to see these beautiful animals in the historic setting in which Will Rogers kept them. For an increasingly urbanized Westside, and especially for schoolchildren who have never seen an animal more exotic than a dog, this is a wonderful experience.

I never took a ride without experiencing a positive interaction with a park visitor, and I rode almost daily for five years. Allowing horses to be trailered in will not be the same; with redevelopment pushing horses out of all the neighboring canyons, it will be the exception rather than the rule for a rider to decide to use these historic bridle trails.

Do the horses cause some damage? Yes. But patches of mud in a paddock or wear on a stall door can be repaired. The loss of a resident horse population would mean the loss of much of what makes Will Rogers State Historic Park romantic and unique.

Audra Lembertas

Malibu